Mythologies | Characters & Character Analysis

Mythologies Important People

The Author

A brief cover note describes the author as "the leading exponent of semiology, the science of signs and symbols ...." He is, in other words, a leading interpreter of myth, which is (and has been throughout history) a collection of signs and symbols intended to illuminate, and at times guide, human experience. It is important to note that the author's goal in advocating semiology is not to decode the meaning of myth, but to analyze how myth is constructed to convey meaning. Similarly, at least according to his writings in Mythologies, an important component of his analysis is an exploration of the reasons myth has meaning at all—why a particular myth comes into being. Throughout the book, but without actually saying so in so many words, he develops the theory that myth is a kind of propaganda, created and shaped with the ultimate goal of guiding and defining, not necessarily...
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